Relay distributing circuit



Nov. 1, 1949 c. HARRISON 2,486,712

RELAY DISTRIBUTING CIRCUIT Filed Feb. 24, 1947 9 a 7 5 \FIG./

FIG. 4

FIG. 5

INVENTOR H. C. MPH/SON A TTORNE Y A Patented Nov. 1, 1949 2,488,712RELAY ms'rnmu'rme omcUrr Henry 0. Harrison, Port Washington, N. 2.,asslgnor to Bell Telephone Laboratories, Incorporated, New York, N. Y; acorporation of New York Application February 24, 1947, Serial No.130.627

Claims. (01. 175-320) In accordance with the invention a reentrant chainof electromagnetic relays is provided wherein each relay has anenergizing winding, an armature and contacting. members actuated by thearmature when the latter is moved under control of its associatedenergizing winding. Magnetic means is provided for each relay which maybe in the form of a pair of cooperating contact members, both of whichare of magnetic material and at least one of which is a permanentmagnet, for holding said members in contact closure after being soclosed by said armature when said winding is energized and after saidarmature is released when the said winding is subsequently deenergized.Each armature is provided with a mechanical part which is adapted toengage and separate the members magnetically held closed on theimmediately preceding relay when the said armature is actuated. The energizing circuit for any one winding is completed in part by closure ofthe members magnetically held closed on the preceding relay and isopened or broken by this separation such that a given winding can beenergized only if the immediately preceding relay has been energized anddeenergized as the prior operation i l the desired en ergization of thegiven winding. Each of the relays in the chain is provided with numerousother pairs of cooperating contact elements or members which of coursemay be employed to perform various operations when the associatedwinding is energized and which may be employed, if normally closed, toprovide various circuit paths during the times when the associatedwinding is deenergized, as will be explained hereinafter.

Out of a chain of relays having a common source of energizing currentand arranged according to the invention it is possible to employ thearrangement to select and energize a different relay each time thecurrent is supplied to and cut-off from the chain, this current beingcontrolled by any means desired and the length of time during which thecurrent is supplied to or cut-off from the chain of relays being anyamount desired. By means of this arrangement the chain of relays may beemployed to distribute the load on several alternate transmission pathsbetween two points or between one point and each of several otherdifierent points. The same means may be employed likewise to selectdistributively and repeatedly in a given order reentrant upon itself anumber of mechanisms or circuits or metering devices multipled betweentwo points of a transmission system but to be connected therebetweenonly one at a time. There are numerous other uses of the invention whichwill be suggested along the above lines as a result of this disclosure.One other such use is that of a counting relay chain.

The foregoing general statement of the invention is explainedhereinafter in connection with an exemplary embodiment thereofillustrated in the drawings forming a part of the specification and forthe various views of which drawings the following are generaldescriptions:

Fig. 1 shows a preferred mechanical layout arrangement of a relay chainembodying the invention and comprising ten relays;

Fig. 2 illustrates three of the relays of Fig. 1 set forth in amechanical and electrical schematic presentation to facilitatedescription thereof;

Fig. 3 is a group of auxiliary relays controlled by the relay chain ofFig. 2; and

Figs. 4 and 5 are block diagrams illustrating in a general way how theinvention may be used as a distributor when either Fig. 4 or Fig. 5 isused with Figs. 2 and 3 as indicated by the dotted circuitinterconnections.

In Fig. l are shown ten relays I through In to be adapted in accordancewith the invention and arranged in a reentrant fashion inside of ahousing or relay panel H which may in turn be mounted on a relay rack(not shown) or any suitable support (not shown).

In Fig. 2 relays 3, 4 and 5 and parts of relays 2 and 6 have beenillustrated in a manner adapted for ease of description rather than asany indication as to how such a chain of relays as Fig. 1 should bearranged for operation. The actual assembled layout may be adapted tofit circumstances. Each relay is provided with a winding 3|, 4| or 5|mounted on a core 32, 42 or 52 which core 32, 42 or 52 is adapted, whenenergized by the associated winding to attract the respective armatures33, 43 and 53 from their normal positions, as shown in Fig. 2. Eacharmature has attached thereto a contact spring separator stud 34, 44 or54 made of insulation in accordance with well-known usage. Similarlyarranged on each relay is a group of contact springs such as freecontact springs 35, 38, 300 and 3|l| and those attached to the springseparators such as 36, 31,39 and 302 on separator 34, all of relay 3. Inaddition to these groups of contact springs each relay is provided with3 two additional contact springs such as 003 and 304 of relay 8. Both ofthese springs I and 304, and of course similarly for all relays in thechain, must be of magnetic material or have the contacts thereof ofmagnetic material, at least one of these springs or contacts being apermanent magnet. Only one side oi relays I, 4 and is shown in Fig. 2,but it is appreciated that there may be contact springs on the otherside as well. In addition it is assumed that the contact springs aresuitably assembled in a contact spring pileup assembly (not shown) as iswell known. Each armature, such as 33 or 43 or 53 is provided with ahook-like extension such as 306 for relay 3 or 400 for relay 4 or 506for relay 5. Upon the ends of these extensions are attached insulatorknobs 301, 401 and 501, respectively and which are adapted to actuatecontact springs 204, 304 or 404 respectively as will be explainedhereinafter. Insulated stop pins, such as 305 and 405 are provided tolimit the permissible movement of such contact springs as 303 of relay 3when armature 40 of relay 4 engages and pulls spring 304 away fromsprings 803 to break the magnetic attraction between these springs orthe contacts thereof. A source of energizing current, such as batteryI2, is provided for energizatlon of the windings of the relays undercontrol of contacts I3 which may be operated manually or automaticallyby means of relay l4, which in turn may be controlled by any suitablemeans over wires it.

The relays l0, l1 and ll of Fig. 3 have been shown as controlledrespectively by chain relays 3, 4, 5 and 6, jointly or singly as willhereinafter be explained. Relays i5, ll and I0 may be used to select andconnect circuits I0, 20 and 2|, respectively of Fig. 4 or 22, 23 and 24,respectively of Fig. 5 as will also be explained hereinafter.

Each of the windings 3|, 4| and 5| of the relays of Fig. 2 is connectedon one side to the common battery i2. The other sides of the windingsare connected to one of the magnetic springs of the immediatelypreceding relay, such as spring 204 for winding II of relay 3 and 304for winding 4| of relay 4. The magnetic springs such as 204 and 304 and404 are connected by wires to springs 39, 49 and 50, respectively ofrelays I, 4 and 5 which normally are out of engagement with their matesprings 300, 400 and 500. For the condition when the magnetic springsare disconnected, such as 403 and 404 of relay 4, the circuit of winding5| of relay 5 has no choice of a path except over contact springs 50 and500 of relay 5, which are open. However, for the condition when themagnetic springs are in contact, such as 300 and 004 of relay 3, thecircuit of winding 4| of relay 4 has a choice of two paths, one fromspring 304 to open springs 40 and 400 of relay 4 or another from spring004 to 000, through normally closed contact springs 302 and "I of relay3 to ground through contacts II when same are closed by relay I 5 or bymanual means. Thus only one winding or relay is able. to be energized oroperated at any one time and when it operates it connects the magneticpair of springs of its own relay, such as 405 and 404 01 relay 4, andsimultaneously breaks the magnetic pair of the preceding relay, such assprings 300 and 304 of relay 3, by means of the armature extension andinsulator knob, such as 400 and 4" respectively of relay 4. This willenable energization of relay 5 and relay 5 only, and so on along thechain, which as has been indicated is reentrant upon itself forcontinuous distribution in repeated cycles.

The operation of the chain is as follows assuming that the last relay tohave been operated and released was relay 3 of Fig. 2, such that theconnected condition of magnetic springs 80] and 304 will be a truecondition of the chain as shown. Inspection of the energizing circuit ofrelay it of Fig. 3 will show that when relay 0 was operated the windingcircuit of relay it was completed from ground through battery 25,winding of relay i5 and make contact springs 21 and 38 of relay 3 toground. Thus relay it was operated and once operated it locked operatedover a circuit from ground through battery 25, winding of relay i0,i'ront contact and armature of relay i6 and break contact springs 45 and40 of relay 4 to ground. This locked condition of relay l5 completescircuit l0 of Fig. 4 between terminal points A and B of the transmissionor control diagram of Fig. 4, the circuits 20 and II of Fig. 4 beingopen at relays l1 and II. In this condition of the chain of relays ofFig. 2 has been effected a selection of circuit or path it 0! Fig. 4which will continue to exist as long as contacts ll of the currentsupply to the chain remain open as shown and as they would be afterrelay 0 had been deenergized.

By whatever means is desired contacts II are now closed for a suitablelength of time. The energizing circuit of winding 4| of relay 4 is nowcompleted over the previously traced circuit, whereupon relay 4 operatesand attracts armature 45 to core 42. Knob 401 will break the connectionof magnetic springs 300 and 004 of relay 3 but the energizing circuitfor winding 4| of relay 4 will be remade at or before this time viamagnetic spring 004 through make contacts 40 and 400 of operated relay4to ground through the break contact springs 30| and 002 of relay 0 andcontacts I! of the control device or relay M. The stud 44 of relay 4will connect magnetic springs 40! and 404 of relay 4 which willthereafter remain in contact due to the magnetic attraction betweenthem. The winding circuit for relay 5 is broken at open springs 59 and500 of relay 5 and opened contact springs 40| and 402 of relay 4 so thatrelay 5 will not operate. In addition the aforementioned locking circuitfor relay it of Fig. 3 is opened and the energizing circuit of relay I!of Fig. 3 is closed. Relay II will release opening circuit or path it ofFig. 4 and relay I! will operate to enable circuit or path 20 betweenpoints A and C of Fig. 4. Upon opening of contacts I! relay 4 willrelease, relay II will lock operated over the contact springs 55 and 5801' relay 5 and the whole chain is again in a position comparable tothat shown except that relay i1 is operated instead of It of Fig. 3 andthe connected magnetic springs have been switched from relay 3 to relay4 in readiness for relay 5 to operate the next time instead of relay 4.

It will be apparent at this point that by a series of operations andreleases of contacts It the chain of relays will operate to select firstpath is of Fig. 4, then 20, then 2| and so forth until ten diil'erentpaths have been selected in turn at which point the distributionfunction of the relay chain will begin at the beginning and perform the0 same operations again.

7 paths, such as 22, 23 and 24, each containing a piece of apparatus ora circuit which is required to handle its share of the load betweenpoints E and F as distributed over several equipments or circuits suchas 26, 21 and 28. The relay chain set forth herein in accordance withthe invention will provide an equal distribution of load between pointsE and F among the several circuits or pieces of apparatus 26, 21 or 28under control of contacts 13 which as previously mentioned can beactuated by a relay II which in turn can be controlled over wires I fromany desirable source, such as a signal from a point E that transmissionto point F is desired. The distributor will regul'ate such transmissionso that the mechanisms,

apparatus or circuits such as 26, 21 and 28 will all handle an equalnumber of transmissions or perform an equal number of operations duringa given period of time when contacts i3 will be actuated at least tentimes to be consistent with the number of relays in the distributingchain.

It is not intended that the invention be limited to the actualdisclosure used as exemplary thereof or to the restricted use of relayssuch as are shown in Fig. 3 and controlled by the relay chain nor to theuse therewith of such systems as shown by Figs. 4 and 5 since all ofthese disclosures are merely illustrative of the utility of theinvention and specifically of one or two specific utilities it may have.For instance, as is well known in the relay art, such a chain of relaysas shown by- ,Figs. 1 and 2 could be provided with a release magnetoperating a draw bar or card adapted when actuated to intercept orengage all magnetic spring pairs on all relays to open all except thoseof any given relay and to close the latter, This would enable the relaychain to act as a counting chain which would be reverted to a normalcondition at any time by operation of the release magnet. Since othersuch adaptations will be suggested for the invention, claims areappended hereinafter which alone define the scope of the invention. i

What is claimed is:

1. A plurality of relays arranged in a series, each relay having awinding, a source of energizing current for the winding of each relay,and means controlled by energization and subsequent deenergization ofthe winding of one of said relays to enable energization of the windingof the next relay in the said series, only one relay winding being soenabled at any one time.

2. A plurality of relays arranged in a series, each relay having awindin a source of energizing current for the winding of each relay, andcontact members controlled by energization and subsequent deenergizationof the winding of one of said relays to enable energization of thewinding of the next relay in the said series, only one relay windingbeing so enabled at any one time. 3. A plurality of relays arranged in aseries, each relay having a winding, a source of energizing current forthe winding of each relay, and pairs of contacts serially included inthe energizing circuit of each relay winding, said pairs of contactscontrolled by energization and subsequent deenergization of the windingof one relay to enable energization of the winding of the next relay inthe said series, only one relay winding being so enabled at any onetime.

4. A plurality of relays arranged in a series,

each relay having a winding, a source of energizing current for thewinding of each relay, and a first pair of normally open magneticcontacts and a second pair of normally closed contacts serially includedin the energization circuit of each relay winding, said first pair ofcontacts controlled by energization and subsequent deenergization of thewinding of one relay to make closure and remain closed by virtueofmutual magnetic attraction and said second pair opened upon energizationand closed upon deenergization of the winding of said one relay tothereby enable energization of the winding of the next relay in the saidseries, only one relay winding being 50 enabled at any one time.

5. A plurality of relays arranged in a series, each relay having awinding, a source of energizing current for the winding of each relay, afirst pair of normally open magnetic contacts, at least one of whichcontacts-of said first pair is a permanent magnet and both of whichfirst pair are serially included in the energization circuit of a relaywinding, and a second pair of normally closed contacts serially includedin the energization circuit of said relay winding, said first pair ofcontacts controlled by energization and subsequent deenergization of thewinding of one relay to make closure and remain closed by virtue ofmutual magnetic attraction and said second pair opened upon energizationand closed upon deenergization of the winding of said relay to therebyenable energization o the winding of the next relay in the said series,only one relay winding being so enabled at any one time.

HENRY C. HARRISON.

REFERENCES crrEn The following references are of record in the file ofthis patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 692,217 Sundh Jan. 28, 1902761,848 Morse June '7, 1904 909,146 Buchanan et al. Jan. 12, 1909922,540 Stratton May 25, 1909 1,438,944 Conway Dec. 19, 1922 1,971,199Owens Aug. 21, 1934 1,978,065 Twombly Oct. 23, 1934 2,008,909 HersheyJuly 23, 1935 2,140,601 Serriere Dec. 20, 1938 OTHER REFERENCES Pamphlet(Catalogue) by Guardian Electric Mfg. 60., Chicago, Illinois, copyright1944.

